Succession

"Succession" is the gradual change of one kind of plant and animal community into another.

Consider a mature beech-maple forest in the Midwest that is cleared for agriculture.

• When the forest is removed, it drastically changes the kinds of plants and animals that can live there.
• If the farmer decides not to plant crops, weeds and annual plants will immediately invade the open field, along with mice and sparrows.
• Over time, shrubs and small trees will invade the field and begin to shade out the grasses and weeds. These shrubs and trees provide habitat for rabbits and foxes.
• Eventually, large trees such as oaks and hickories will grow up and shade out the shrubs. These will dominate the forest for a while, but beech and maple trees (which do well in the shade) will begin slowly growing on the forest floor.
• After many years, the large oaks and hickories will fall, and the maples and beech trees will take their place as the dominant species.

Different kinds of wildlife do well in different successional stages. Rabbits and grouse do well in early successional habitats like old fields and thick young aspen forest, while many forest songbirds require late successional stages like mature forest.